July 17, 2014 VOLU M E 31 | I SS UE 3 | 5 0 ¢
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Legislation seeks to undo Hobby Lobby case By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com Sen, Mark Udall and several other congressional Democrats unveiled legislation last week that seeks to push back against a recent and controversial Supreme Court decision over contraception. Udall’s bill, which is being dubbed the “Not My Boss’s Business Act,” would restore the contraception coverage requirement that is a component of the Affordable Care Act. “It will restore a woman’s power to make a personal health care decision based on what is best for her and her families and not according to her employer’s personal beliefs,” Udall said during a July 11 press conference in downtown Denver. That “Obamacare” component – which mandates that employers provide contraception coverage in their company health plans
COMMUNITY OUTREACH WHAT: Wheat Ridge community outreach meetings WHEN: Saturday, July 19 - 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 23 - 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 24 - 10-11:30 a.m. WHERE: July 19 - Hayward Park, 7500 W. 29th Ave. July 23 - Active Adult Center, 6363 W. 35th Ave. July 24 - Anderson Park, 4355 Field St. INFORMATION: www.ci.wheatridge. co.us
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WHEAT RIDGE TRANSCRIPT (ISSN 1089-9197)
OFFICE: 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Jefferson County, Colorado, the Wheat Ridge Transcript is published weekly on Thursday by Mile High Newspapers, 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210, Golden, CO 80401. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT GOLDEN, COLORADO. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Wheat Ridge Transcript 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
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– was dealt a blow by the Supreme Court late last month. The court gave the OK for certain companies with religious objections to avoid the contraception coverage requirement. The ruling is known as the Hobby Lobby decision, named after one of the companies that brought the case. The Court insisted that its ruling was narrow. But Udall said that the decision could impact millions of other employees across the country who may have to “ask their bosses for a permission slip to access important forms of birth control or other critical health services.” “The men and women who signed up to work at Hobby Lobby signed up to work at a craft store, not a religious organization,” Udall said. Udall also warned that the ruling could have a slippery slope impact in other areas of health care where religious objections might
exist, such as vaccinations and HIV treatment. Udall was joined by leaders of various women’s organizations, who voiced their support of the legislation. “We believe strongly that health care is a human right and that private corporations should not be allowed to discriminate against women in the guise of religious freedom,” said Cristina Aguilar of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights. U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat who represents Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, is a House co-sponsor of the legislation. Through an emailed statement, Perlmutter cited recent state statistics that indicate that contraception services have contributed to a 40 percent drop in teenage pregnancies since 2009. “I want all women, including my daughters, to have access to the most effective
forms of family planning services and preventative health options, regardless of their employers’ beliefs,” Perlmutter said. Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans are critical of the legislation, dismissing the bill as an attempt by Democrats to rally women voters for the upcoming mid-term elections. A spokesman for Rep. Cory Gardner, who is running against Udall for his Senate seat, said that Udall’s opposition to Gardner’s own proposal to making oral contraception available over the counter shows that he is “more concerned with his own political health than women’s health...” “We can only conclude that Mark Udall is desperate to keep this as a political issue instead of solving the problem,” said Gardner spokesman Alex Siciliano. “Cory is presenting a solution to benefit Coloradans — Senator Udall is preserving his own political arsenal.”
The first steps of the long haul Jeffco5 falls short on signatures
Community outreach meetings held in city By Clarke Reader
creader@colorado communitymedia.com Ask Mayor Joyce Jay to describe Wheat Ridge, and she answers instantly that it’s a city on the move. To keep that momentum going, Jay and the city’s government want to hear what issues are important to residents moving forward. To that end the city is hosting several open meeting to hear directly from residents on what they want to see happen in their city. The meetings will be held at several different locations around the city and different times to accommodate as many residents as possible. There will be a meeting 1011:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, at Hayward Park, 7500 W. 29th Ave. Another meeting will be 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, at the Active Adult Center, 6363 W. 35th Ave. A final meeting will be 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 24, at Anderson Park, 4355 Field St. “This is a kind of follow up to the recent phone poll we conducted with our citizens,” said city manager Patrick Goff. “We’re looking for support from the community on what they want us to do to move Wheat Ridge forward.” Goff and Jay both said that infrastructure needs are of utmost importance and that means that there may have to be a raise in taxes to pay for some of these projects. “In order to get the community moving and economically viable we need to have dollars in it,” Jay said. “We need to become viable and competitive in the market.” An issue that Jay said is close to her heart is making the city more amenable to alternative transportation. “I support creating a downtown because we need more walkability, something all ages can participate in,” she said. “Bicycling is becoming essential — not only is it great exercise but it’s easy to do.” Goff said once all the meetings have been held, the data
Members to regroup on move to increase to five commissioners By Amy Woodward
awoodward@colorado comunitymedia.com
Gracie, left, and Elijah Gilmore playing on the playground at Anderson Park. Photos by Hannah Burlingame
All Veterans’ Memorial at Hayward Park. will collected and put together with the phone poll and presented to city council, along with options for next steps. “Any ballot issues would have to be to the county by Sept. 5,” he said. For Jay, these meetings are an opportunity to hear right
from residents about what they want. “We have a place right here for everything — why should our residents drive some place else?” For more information on the meetings, visit www. ci.wheatridge.co.us.
The Jeffco5 — a grassroots campaign run by a small group of volunteers who want to increase the number of county commissioners from three to five — announced last week it was unable to turn in enough signatures to place the initiative on the 2014 ballot. But it wasn’t from a lack of interest from registered voters, according to Ray Goodhart, co-founder of Jeffco5. “The interest was there,” Goodhart said. He estimated that 95 percent of the people engaged agreed with their initiative. The group had the initial goal of collecting 25,000 signatures, but gathered only 10,000 — more than half of the required 17,445 signatures needed to make the ballot. The problem, Goodhart said, was utilizing their small group to circulate petitions and the group did not want to fund paid circulators. “It was an insurmountable task, unbeknownst to us, to do that without paying for outside groups. We felt that that would be weakening our message,” Goodhart said. Karen Oxman, Jeffco5 founder stated that although the group didn’t get enough signatures, it doesn’t mean the initiative is going away. “It’s really sad we didn’t get enough, I wanted to see it on the ballot, I believe it would have passed,” Oxman said. “This is not a dead issue, it’s going until it is passed.” Members will regroup to discuss their strategy moving forward which may include some members supporting candidates in favor of the Jeffco5 initiative although the group as a whole will remain nonpartisan. One particular candidate is John Flerlage, Democratic nominee for county commissioner in district 3 against GOP incumbent Don Rosier, who has been outspoken against increasing the number of county commissioners from three to five. Flerlage stated he is in support of increasing representation for the county.
Jeffco5 continues on Page 14